


The very stars in the sky were stolen from your eyes

by akemitamura



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-02-26 02:23:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18714580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akemitamura/pseuds/akemitamura
Summary: Homura and Madoka see each other for the first time since middle school.





	1. Chapter 1

_" 'Goodbye, cruel world' is too cliche"_ , she thought.

Homura Akemi was walking to the edge of a bridge. She had decided the night before, after she had broken down crying for the third time that month, that she no longer had anything to live for. Dusk had arrived long ago, the light of the sun being replaced by that of the city. She had picked someplace out-of-the-way, hoping that nobody else would have any reason to be here at this hour.

Homura climbed up onto the railing and sat down on it, her legs dangling over the side. _"I at least wanted some good last words, damnit."_ she thought. She watched the cars below her that passed every so often, their headlights bringing brief illumination to her surroundings. She breathed in deeply.

She carefully lowered herself from her seat and walked along the side, one hand holding onto the railing, until she was no longer above the street.

 _"I hope this is high enough."_ she thought, looking at the ground below her. If she jumped here, nobody would have to see her body in the middle of the road. Homura let go of the breath she was holding. _"It's better this way."_ she thought to herself. _"Nobody will have to suffer because of it. It's not like anyone would miss me, anyway. Everyone who would have cared has forgotten me by now."_

Homura let go of the railing. She turned her head towards the night sky, trying to think of something to say, even though nobody would hear her.

"Sorry." she said finally, her attempt at finality coming out as a whimper. The single word was all she could manage. Homura closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. A last car passed beneath the bridge, and there was now a hush about the area. She began to take a step forward onto thin air, and it felt to her as if she were moving in slow motion.

"STOP!"

The cry from behind her broke the silence. Homura's leg snapped back onto the bridge, her heart racing as she heard footsteps from a few dozen feet away, rapidly closing the distance between this person and herself. There had been somebody out here? She swallowed, guilt rising in her stomach like vomit. Her feet left the edge.

A pair of arms caught her not a split-second later, struggling to pull her back up. "Please, don't do this! I'm sure there are people who would miss you!" pleaded the girl who'd grabbed Homura, her voice soft despite her heavy breathing. Homura reluctantly helped the girl bring her back onto the bridge, and onto the other side of the railing. She felt sick. Trying to avoid eye contact, she saw her savior had pink hair and pigtails.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked, reaching out to hold her wrist. Her voice struck Homura as familiar in a way she couldn't quite place. Homura finally looked her in the eyes. She recognized this girl.

"...Madoka?" Homura asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The girl's eyes widened, and she pulled herself away from Homura, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. She began to cry.

"Oh, no..." Madoka choked out the words, pausing to wipe the tears off of her face with her sleeve. Her eyes were locked with Homura's, neither of them daring to look away just yet.

Finally, the sound of cars passing beneath them returned. "I'm - I'm sorry," Homura blurted out, no longer able to maintain eye contact, the words echoing the sickly guilt she felt from all over. "Sorry about this, I mean. For us to see each other again, after - after so long, this way, of all things. Madoka, I -" Before she could finish, the girl had pulled her into her arms. Homura's face was now tucked close to Madoka's shoulder, and before she realized it, she had embraced Madoka as well, and she was sobbing against her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry this isn't very long, but I thought that this would be a good place to end the chapter. This is the first serious thing I've written in a long time, so if it isn't very good, that's probably at least part of why. I'm working on chapter 2 already, so this will be updated soon, hopefully.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this done earlier. I'll try to finish the next chapter more quickly so the wait between updates won't be as long.

Homura woke up covered in cold, sticky sweat, in a home she vaguely recognized as not being her own. She felt like she'd had a bad dream, but couldn't remember what it was about.

  
Across from the couch she was lying on was a shelf with pictures of Madoka and her family. After a very brief moment of confusion, she recalled the events of the previous night after she had met Madoka on the bridge. Madoka... Homura couldn't help but feel their reunion was bittersweet at best. She had been saved by Madoka, who had insisted that Homura spend the night with her, worried for her safety. Once they'd arrived at Madoka's house, Madoka had sat her down to have a short talk, and then Homura had fallen asleep.  
  
She shoved the comforter she'd borrowed off of herself and sat up. Homura quickly scanned her surroundings to see if anything had changed since she had last been in Madoka's home, a little over four years ago now. The clock on the wall informed her it was just past noon. Was it really that late?   
  
"... Hello?" she called out. The hollowness of the quiet that followed made her extra aware of the clock ticking. _"She wouldn't have left me alone in her house, right?"_ She thought.  
  
She got up to see if Madoka was still home, and if not, if she had left a note for her. The kitchen and dining room were both as empty as the living room had been. She wandered to Madoka's room and knocked twice on the door.  
  
"Madoka? Are you there?"  Homura asked. A second passed, then two, then - "... Oh, Homura, -" Madoka answered, then paused to let out a yawn. "- Good morning. Do you know what time it is?" Homura heard footsteps beyond the door, and then several drawers being opened and closed. "It's, um, a little after twelve. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." she said, taking a step backwards. "Don't worry about it!" Madoka replied. "Here, I'll be out in a second."  
  
Madoka pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. "Are you feeling any better since, um, last night?" she asked. "A little bit." Homura offered weakly, her gaze shifting to the floor. The other girl looked almost disappointed at the response for a moment. "You're alright though, at least?" she asked. Homura nodded slightly. "Although, I slept in my clothes from yesterday, so I probably need a shower..."  
  
They made their way back to the living room and sat down together on the couch again. "I'll help you clean this up later, if you'd like." she said. "No, it's okay! I'll take care of it." Madoka assured her, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. Half a minute passed and neither of them could seem to think of anything to say. Madoka had turned away to look outside the window. Homura looked down at her hands, feeling awkward and fidgeting slightly. "Did you have anything to do today?" she asked, feeling obligated to break the silence somehow.

"Nope, no plans today. Why do you ask? Did you want to do something?" Madoka responded, shifting to face her again. "Oh, um, no. It's - I think it's a little soon to be... no, I was just hoping that I hadn't caused you to oversleep and miss anything important," Homura answered. "I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience." Madoka frowned. "Please, don't think of yourself like that, Homura. You're my friend, and I want to make sure you're okay. Even if I had something else, that comes first," Madoka told her, placing a hand on top of one of Homura's, "You come first."

"I... Thank you." She paused and rubbed her eyes. "Really, thank you. I've - I've missed you, and Sayaka, and Mami... When I didn't get into the same school, I - I didn't think I'd ever see you again." she sniffled. "Any of you. Nobody there even - nobody there liked me, and some of them even..." she swallowed, her breath shaking. Homura felt Madoka's hand tighten around hers. Before she knew what was happening, she was being pulled towards her. "M - Madoka -!"

Madoka wrapped her arms around Homura and held onto her. "I missed you too." Homura shuddered against her, blinking away tears. "I'm... I'm not somebody worth missing..."

"You are to me." Madoka said. She pressed her forehead against the top of Homura's head. "It's going to be okay, Homura, I promise. You don't have to tell me everything, but I'm here if you need someone to talk to."   
  
Homura opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words she was desperately looking for. How was she supposed to tell Madoka that this was the closest to happiness she'd been in years, that she had needed this comfort so badly for so long, that this was almost worth the pain that had  _made_ her need it? She wondered if the words could even come out right, if Madoka would think she's just the weird, sick, lonely girl that everyone else already _knew_ she was.  
  
"... Can we just... stay like this, for a while?" she asked instead, moving her arms up from her sides to hug Madoka back. "Please?"   
  
"Mm-hm." Madoka hummed back. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through Homura's hair, stroking the back of her head gently. "Thank you." Homura sighed. "As long as you need." she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Homura pulled herself closer to Madoka, burying her face above Madoka's chest. 

They sat together silently, without letting go, for minutes before Homura worked up the courage to speak again.  
  
"... I can't understand why you'd do any of this for me." she said. 

"You've always been so nice to me, Madoka, and I don't understand it. But more than that, I... I don't deserve it. I never have. Madoka, you were the first friend I've ever had, the first person who cared about me enough to be my friend. But I'm no good. You've given me all I have, and... and..." she stammered, "Madoka, you've given me everything, and I don't have anything to give back to you."  
  
Homura was shaking.   
  
"I'm sorry, I'm so weak that you had to save me. What kind of friend... what kind of person does that? You must think I'm pathetic, right?" she asked, her voice betraying that she was again on the verge of tears.   
  
Madoka did not make a sound, save the rhythm of her breathing.  
  
Homura blinked. She pulled back slightly and turned her head up, careful to ensure her movement didn't disturb Madoka. Her eyes were shut, her mouth just slightly open. For a few seconds, Homura did nothing but stare up at her.   
  
_"She's... asleep."_ she realized. _"She fell asleep holding me. With me holding her."_  
  
Homura paused, before shifting closer again. She decided to stay with Madoka until she woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Homura (this one especially) is sort of cathartic for me, because in a lot of ways she reminds me of myself, mostly in terms of how she feels about herself. I try to keep that sort of thing in mind while writing her, hoping that it might feel more realistic that way, but sometimes I worry I'm projecting too much onto her. I hope that I'm accomplishing that, and not just making her act out-of-character.


End file.
